Pickled Salmon – Perfect Starter or Light Main Course

There is so much controversy in cooking these days. Should I buy Atlantic farmed salmon? Wild salmon? Pacific? Organic? Irish farmed and properly fed? Questions abound. The truth is, it does help to know (and remember) the best type of salmon to buy as it will make you and the world healthier vessels. So, why not Atlantic wild or Atlantic farmed? Because it is poorly fed and pesticide/toxin laced, as opposed to organic farmed Atlantic or Irish farm fed from certain bays in Ireland (details to follow in a few days, thanks to Harriet Sugar Miller) which both eat the healthy food and thus are healthy food. Pacific wild from the northern waters were highly respected but may now be affected by the recent nuclear disasters in Japan. Realistically, the cost may be exorbitant and it takes more effort to even think about the cleaner choice but the benefits speak for themselves. We all gotta make choices, so if you have the time, energy, inclination and surplus dough, it’s a no brainer.

All that being said…there are so many great, easy ways to cook salmon at home that it is beyond me how it can be selected on a restaurant menu. Salmon is my first choice of what to cook when I entertain because it is almost impossible to screw up. My favorite ways include poached and served with sauce verte, cedar plank BBQed, slathered with Dijon mustard and maple syrup before roasting and pickled. Today is the day for pickled.

My good friend Lorraine Levy, real estate agent extraordinaire, decoded the Moishe’s Steakhouse taste-alike recipe. If you want to “Eat to Beat Cancer” as Harriet Sugar Millerwould recommend in her upcoming web book of said name, then you can substitute agave syrup for the sugar. Aha – sugar – more controversy. Don’t go looking for sugary sweets among my entries. I may enjoy them from time to time, even enormously, but I don’t go out of my way to include them in my diet.

Pickled Salmon

4 lbs Salmon

1 c sugar or 2/3 c agave syrup

1 c white vinegar

750 ml Heinz Chili Sauce

4 T Pickling spice

2 large thinly sliced Spanish onions

If you have a poacher then you can wrap the salmon in cheesecloth to make it easier to remove. Simmer the salmon for about 8 minutes until the colour goes from bright to pale in water, salt and 1 tablespoon of pickling spice. You can use steaks, filets, whole sides or pieces of salmon and any shaped pot, as long as you don’t over cook the fish. After 6 minutes you can lift it gently out of the water, replacing it as needed. If it is on the brink of readiness, you can lay it on a tray and spoon the hot liquid over the fish to complete the cooking process.

Combine the sugar, vinegar and chili sauce in a medium-sized bowl. Layer the onions and pickling spices under and over the fish in a large flat Pyrex dish or a glass bowl.

Pour the sauce over the fish, cover, refrigerate at least 1 day before serving and voilà! You are done.

Most amazing of all is that this tasty dish will last for 2 weeks in your fridge. So, you can prolong the enjoyment over time, or you can prepare in advance for a holiday feast.Makes an excellent appetizer or light meal.

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Comments

I remember your Mom's pickled and poached salmon as being legendary. Personally I am a wild BC salmon eater. Yes it is denser and "wilder" tasting, certainly less fat so not as juicy but if you want one for a plank this is the one. I am loving your food blog! It's so nicely put together and inspiring. My little 2 cents worth here, personally (and this is just me)cod does its best show when its naked! Just fry in hot butter/olive oil, salt, pepper. Smoke out the kitchen and you know you're doing it right! Sorry for rambling, keep writing we love it!!-liz

Well, actually, this agave issue is a bit sticky. It has a high fructose content, not good for those with blood sugar issues. In fact, people with cancer should stick to a no sugar diet. I'll be posting on sweeteners–the best and worst, their link to cancer– in the near future. Stick around.

If I may, I’d like to make one suggestion when making pickled salmon. I found that the pickling spices get all over the fish and it’s not fun “picking the pickling”! What I do, is wrap the pickling spices in little cheesecloth “packages” (tied with thread) and spread these packages in the container you put the fish in. It make it just as tasty! Another thing I do, is instead of leaving the fish in one piece, I cut the fish in little pieces before cooking and just cook these morsels for a few minutes in lemon flavoured boiling water, over the stove in a frying pan.
Great suggestions from a JitterBug! Thanks SR